Deana Barnhart is hosting a blast of a blogfest this month for all sorts of writerly types, especially for those preparing to cross that bridge from unagented to agented. Even though I crossed that bridge earlier this year, I thought the party looked like fun, so I decided to pop in for the kickoff this week.
This party's getting started with a writing question that you all are supposed to help me answer. So here is the question that is burning in my mind right now:
What is it about a story that keeps you turning the pages until you get to the last one even though it's 4 am and you need to be at work in less than 3 hours?
Not that anything like this has ever happened to any of you, right? I'm still gathering my ideas on this question and will share them at the end of the day. What are your thoughts? What makes a page turner?
If a book touches a certain emotion, whether it's the characters or the plot, an emotion that comes from some deeply rooted experience or fear or passion, I have to see what happens. Often, it's simply the need for resolution. So much of my young life was uncertain and issues from childhood to this day remain unresolved. When it comes to a book, finding an answer, the hope for an end of some kind, pulls me through whatever muck and ruin (and sometimes hilarity) I might encounter in those pages until I'm satisfied. (yes, I gravitate towards the darker side of things.)
ReplyDeleteI know that's kind of a vague answer, but I always follow with my heart, whether it's reading, writing, or living. So I guess that's where a book has to hit me...straight in the heart.
Oh good question! I think I have to feel wrapped up in the world where I can see the movie in my head if that makes sense and if a book is suspenseful I have to know what's happening.
ReplyDeleteLike Ghostgirl said, emotion is good. Suspense is good. Voice is good. I have to care about what happens. Suspense can sometimes give me anxiety which will sometimes make me put down a book for a while (and walk away from some movies) but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Love stories where it feels real are good page turners too.
ReplyDeleteThe characters! And my need to see what happens to them :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cari. If reading the book is like watching a movie in my head, then I am hooked!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I can explain it, sometimes there is just something about the way a story is going that makes me want to keep reading until I know everything that's going on...sometimes the unknown things or plot twists are too intriguing to wait for. The way the book is written, the characters, the storyline...those all contribute.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's voice and a cliffhanger moment at the end of each chapter.
ReplyDeleteI think it has to do with the characters, a swift plot, and a BIG question that I have to wait until the end of the book to get the answer to. If I want to find something out, I'll read until I do.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about that - Delirium was the most recent book I've read that sucked me in. Of course, strong plotting, high stakes are key. But the most important is the voice and description that makes me fall into the book's world and not want to leave. I need to love the MC.
ReplyDeleteA question to be answered; a mystery to be solved.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that the point I get hooked is when things are so awful for the MC that I can't stand to walk away until things get better.
ReplyDeleteTension on every page. We all want things to be "okay" and will keep reading until they are ;-)
ReplyDeleteSuspense - knowing the other shoe is gunna drop. I'm reading a book now, possibly one of the best I've ever read - Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum. I can't seem to put it down!
ReplyDeleteUsually one of two things--an intriguing idea that I simply must see how it's played out, or an emotional investment in the characters.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all these great answers! When I can't put a book down, it's often because #1 I care about the characters #2 There are unanswered story questions that pull me through to the end #3 Something tugs at me on a visceral level
ReplyDeleteI'm a high stakes gal... I need things to be happening at a fast pace. I like characterization and description woven in, but the golden ticket for me is a great, fast rolling plot.
ReplyDeleteI want a mystery in some form. If an author leaves me with an unanswered question at the end of a chapter I will read to find out more...and more...and more.
ReplyDeleteThat's a hard question. First, I have to care about the MC or the rest doesn't matter. Second, the premise needs to believable. Third, the plot should be interesting and not drag.
ReplyDeleteAn exciting, full of surprises shot.
ReplyDeleteI'm followimg you now.
Good cliffhanger chapter ends. And great first sentences in the next chapters. I often find that I have to stop reading in the middle of a chapter in those books, just so I can put the dang book down!
ReplyDeleteI'm following you. Doesn't that sound sorta creepy? Great blog.
Laura
laurabwriter.blogspot.com
You know I think it is something that is totally irritating me! I have to keep reading because I want to know that it gets worked out so I can calm down. I guess if it makes me mad then it has to be because I am invested in the characters and I want things to work out. So there is my long way of saying the love of the characters keeps me turning them pages...and no I haven't stayed up all night reading either:)
ReplyDeleteA hook in every chapter and good cliffhanger chapter endings without a doubt!
ReplyDeleteHey Angelina, I also live in Western Washington, am a fellow BlogFester, a writer, and your new follower.
ReplyDeleteYou've asked a great question and though it is hard to pick just one aspect, if I had to, I'd say suspense. To know what the next step is, to know if the MC came out of it all right, or made the best decision.
Each chapter has to have a little cliffhanger at the end to make you want to keep reading, no matter how late.
I've been thinking about this as well. I just read THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH (soooo good!) and I could not put it down. I think the answer can vary from book to book, but I have to care about the characters so I can worry about them--thus, the stakes must be high. Not necessarily life and death, of course, but something that matters to the protagonist.
ReplyDeleteHaving problems with my signature, I'm the anonymous one: Catherine Johnson :)
ReplyDelete